Urban Craft: The Easter Edition!

We're celebrating Easter Weekend with an all new Urban Craft, packed full of handmade goodness for each and every one of you! We're incredibly excited to have a new round of awesome vendors on hand in addition to your favorites. And--we've got a ton of goodies for the little tykes in your life! A preview:

Adorable animal caps from Kokobaru

Colorful diaper covers from Barnyard Bummz

Gorgeous kiddie clothes from Couture Kids

Fun diapers & diaper covers from Bumblebaby

And for the adults in your life...

Adorable handmade coasters from VersaTile

Lovely clothes from Paisley

Adorable handmade cards from heart meets paper

Plus 15 more fantastic vendors for you to shop from! If you've got company in town for the long weekend, bring them down to see us! Can't wait to see you there:

Urban Craft - April Edition
Saturday, April 7, 2012
10am-2pm
The GCTC (Holland & Wellington)

Urban Craft: The Windy Edition!

Gorgeous coasters from VersaTile Designs

Every month, as we get closer and closer to Urban Craft, we begin to watch the weather closely to see if Mother Nature is going to give us some awesome weather for the day of the show. We are always so excited to see temperatures in the plus side of things, and are even more excited when there's a chance of sunshine on the day. This has especially been the case since we launched our monthly market in the fall, and temperatures have only gotten colder and colder as the months have progressed (boy are we looking forward to Spring)! As we watched the weather in advance of the March show this past weekend, we became pretty excited as the 90% chance of rain we were supposed to get turned into a 20% chance and the projected temperatures began to rise. Total score!

Golden Triangle T-Shirt From Apt. 613

It seems as though Mother Nature had something completely different in mind for us on Saturday. As we began to set up the event on the day of the show, blustery winds blew in and began gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour! Balloons were ripped off strings; we lost a few sandwich boards to damage, and every vendor who entered looked a little more than windblown.

But should you ever question whether or not Ottawans are a tough and resilient folk, we have an easy answer for that: hundreds of people came out to the show. They were certainly windblown but happy to be inside and shop! And we were more than happy to see them, too!

Gorgeous glass pendants from Water Willow Designs

We expanded the number of crafters selling at Urban Craft for the first time this Saturday. Because of overwhelming demand from vendors and requests from the public for more vendors to shop from, we introduced half tables in order to add some new vendors to the mix. It was an experiment of sorts and seemed to work very well; we are still working on tweaking the setup and figuring things out as we go! We are so excited about how this show continues to grow in vendors and people. We are a lucky bunch!

Sewn goodies from Winged Beast Outfitters

Colorful cases from My Stow -n- Tow

Gorgeous modern pouches from Prairie Girl Creations

Our next show is coming up on April 7th! Here's hoping Mother Nature will bestow a gorgeous, sunny spring day on us then!

Holiday Goodies at Urban Craft December!

It seems as though December really snuck up on us here at Urban Craft Headquarters. Even though we've been working on putting together our December show for over a month, I can hardly believe it's already December 1st. I am a huge huge fan of the holidays and am seriously excited for Urban Craft's December edition. We have assembled a team of vendors that will have something for everyone on your Christmas list--from foodies to kids to vegans to glam girls--we've got you covered. Observe:

Hillery from Clever Plumage will be joining us all the way from Kingston! She creates gorgeous fascinators from feathers that she hand gathers from aviaries. She then hand washes the feathers and hand sews them into these stunning creations. They're seriously so perfect for the holiday parties you'll undoubtedly be attending this December.

Couture Kids makes some of the loveliest kids clothes I've seen in a while. Adorable yet sophisticated, I sort of wish she made some of these pieces in adult sizes so I could buy them for myself! We can't wait for you to see her lovely stuff in person!

Chef Richard's Kitchen Flavors will be bringing some seriously sophisticated flavors to Urban Craft this month. He'll be bringing preserves perfect for the foodie on your list -or- for that special party you're hosting this season. With preserves like Mostarda di Cremona and pickled crabapples, I'm definitely intrigued and can't wait to try some myself!

Indie*Go Designs will join us for the first time with her lovely jewelry. Designer Eliza creates really funky, unique pendants and earrings from vintage books, magazines and other ephemera and even creates map pendants (above), which are hugely popular gift items.

Auntie Loo's will be back this month with their ridiculously good vegan baked goods. I tried one of their brand-spankin'-new whoopie pies last weekend, and they're seriously delish. Major Craig's Chutney will also be joining us this month. Their infamously good chutneys, including flavors like Butternut Beer and A Date with Cranberry, will be on hand. My stomach is grumbling just thinking about it!

Urban Craft - December Edition!
Saturday, December 3rd
10am-2pm
The GCTC, Holland & Wellington

Glisten! A Handmade Holiday Event. This Saturday!

Friends! Exciting news! This weekend we're hosting an event at the GCTC (home of Urban Craft) called Glisten! Glisten is a handmade holiday event featuring crafters from across Ottawa. Attendees will be able to shop from some incredibly lovely vendors, including some previously undiscovered talent! This show is presented by the GCTC and we've selected a slew of new vendors--different than those you will see at Urban Craft--for you to peruse!

A preview:

Mynta, whose work I have admired forever, will be on hand with some seriously stunning and unique sterling silver jewelry. It's probably going to take all my control to keep myself from buying all her stock. Someone on my Christmas list is surely getting a piece of her jewelry!

Kokobaru will be in attendance with these adorable animal caps and really precious, hand-sewn stuffed animals (above). Her stuff is perfect for the little ones you have on your Christmas list!

urbanfête will be showcasing their gorgeous, modern holiday cards and will have designs for not only Christmas, but for Hanukkah and other occasions too!

Patricia at PR Design makes gorgeously unique stained glass goodies including night lights, wall art and really neat jewelry.

Epidemic 613 will bringing ties for the guys and other awesome home decor and assorted goodies. Stuff for dudes! Yay!

Thistle & Maple makes some of the coolest, most unique rings I've seen in a while (and believe you me--I see a lot of jewelry)! Her unique creations are made from clay and are seriously gorgeous!

And Poppy Studios will also be in attendance with lovely bunting for Christmas and all other seasons! Perfect for dressing up your mantle for the holidays, or just decking the halls in general!

Show Details:
Glisten! A Handmade Holiday Event
Saturday, November 19
10am-4:30pm
The GCTC (Holland & Wellington)

Full List Of Vendors:
Blush Beads
Thistle & Maple
Face To Grace
Eufemia Bella
Sarah's Card Company
Clean Hands Warm Hands
Mynta
PR Design
Urbanite Jewelry
My Stow N Tow
Epidemic 613
Kokobaru
Oh My Ampersand
Bytown Beanery
Bez Gluten Free
Poppy Studios
Pink Wagon
urbanfete
Operation Come Home
iDi Designs

For more info & updates, join us over on Facebook!

More Photos from Urban Craft's November Edition!

Some more lovely photos from Urban Craft's November edition, courtesy of our good friends at foodiePrints (who write one of our very favorite Ottawa food blogs)!

Photos 1: Macarons from Urban Baking Co., 2, 3 & 4: Laser cut toys from 3 Princesses Engraving, 5, 6 & 7: Sterling silver jewelry from Jasmine Virani, 8, 9, 10: The koko chocolate crew with their special Movember 'staches & boxes, 11 & 12: Flights of Fancy's lovely accessories--featuring ML from 20 York Street! All photos courtesy of foodiePrints.

The First Ever Ottawa Craft Crawl!

Guys & gals, we've got an incredibly exciting announcement today: we're launching Ottawa's first ever Craft Crawl!

We're launching Ottawa's first ever craft crawl, taking place in November/December 2011! What's a craft crawl, you say!? We've smashed together two fantastic events: a pub crawl--where participants travel from pub to pub partaking in adult beverages--and craft shows, where you can get the coolest gifts during the holiday season. While there won't be any drinking involved, there will definitely be a ton of crawling. So much, in fact, that it'll be happening throughout the month of November and December and there's some sweet prizes to be had!

How it works: Participants can pick up a 'craft passport' at Urban Craft in Hintonburg of November 5, 2011. This craft passport will be both your guide to Ottawa's awesomest indie craft shows this November + your ticket to winning a giant prize package. Keep that passport and take it to any of the craft shows listed on the back. Get your passport stamped at the front door. Collect 4 stamps or more and you're eligible to win a giant prize package filled with tons of handmade goodness from every single show in the crawl PLUS a season ticket pass from the Great Canadian Theatre Company! Submit your passport to win the giant prize package at Craftalicious on December 10, 2011 in The Glebe!

Just the Facts:
1. Pick up your passport at Urban Craft on November 5
2. Get your passport stamped at each of the shows listed on the passport
3. Collect 4 stamps or more to be eligible to win the giant prize package
4. Turn in your passport at Craftalicious on December 10 to be entered in the prize package draw!

Participating Shows:
Urban Craft
November 5, 10am-2pm
1233 Wellington St. W

Handmade Harvest
November 4 & 5, 4-9pm (Fri) 10am-4pm (Sat)
Almonte Old Town Hall, 14 Bridge Street

Glisten!
November 19, 10am-4:30pm
1233 Wellington St. W

Sandy Hill One & Only
November 20, 10am-4pm
Sandy Hill Community Center, 250 Somerset St. E

Idle Hands
November 26, 10am-5pm
St. Luke's Anglican Church, 760 Somerset St. W

Hintonburg Artisan Craft Fair
November 26, 10am-5pm
1064 Wellington St. W

Urban Craft
December 3, 10am-2pm
1233 Wellington St. W

Craftalicious
December 10, 10am-5pm
St. Matthew's Anglican Church, 217 First Ave.

This event is part of Apt. 613's Support Local Month and sponsored by all of the incredible craft shows above! More details and exciting updates at our Facebook Page!